Boosting rent assistance would do more

A boost to Commonwealth rent assistance for pensioners – which would most benefit women who don’t own their own homes – would provide a much bigger improvement to their living standards per budgetary dollar.

Boosting the maximum rate of Rent Assistance for pensioners by 15% – or roughly $500 a year for a single woman living alone – would do more than extra super contributions, and importantly would help people already aged and in poverty.

And because women live longer than men, it would do more for women than men.

The costs would be manageable. Boosting Rent Assistance by 15% would cost A$250 million a year – roughly the same as paying super on paid parental leave.

Paying super on paid parental leave would do little for most retirement incomes and would do nothing for the existing retirees and older women who need help now.

There are far more effective ways to help them, for about the same cost.

Labor has delivered symbolism instead of substance.

– Super. If Labor really wanted to help women in retirement, it would do something else– http://theconversation.com/super-if-labor-really-wanted-to-help-women-in-retirement-it-would-do-something-else-103603